- Federal Judge Rules Top US Prosecutor in Los Angeles Isn’t Legally Serving
Source: US News & World Report
“A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles. The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate — something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support. Essayli ‘is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,’ U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote. The order won’t take effect until the court rules on the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal.” (10/28/26)
- Trove of Documents Exposes Secret Palantir Role in Medicare’s AI Pilot Program
Source: Common Dreams
“The software firm Palantir has drawn scrutiny and recent public ire over its role in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, the illegal US war in Iran, and Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. But a trove of documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reveals that the notorious tech company’s tentacles have reached into the American healthcare system—including a widely criticized Medicare pilot program that uses AI models to review requests for medical services. The documents include an application from Zyter, a healthcare technology company that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) chose to participate in the Medicare pilot program, formally known as the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model. Zyter’s application mentions that Palantir ‘provides mission critical software infrastructure for CMS’ and other government agencies, as well as ‘multiple’ insurance companies. Zyter uses Palantir’s software infrastructure, EFF noted.” (10/28/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/palantir-medicare-ai-experiment
- Neil Young sues for the second time over Trump’s use of “Rockin’ in the Free World”
Source: NBC News
“Rock star Neil Young filed a $10 million lawsuit Monday over President Donald Trump’s use of his song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at campaign events — the second time he has sued over Trump’s use of his music. In the five-page filing, Young’s lawyers say he ‘has suffered damage to his reputation and brand as a result of the implication that he supports Donald J. Trump in any way.’ The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Virginia against the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee, alleging copyright infringement over Trump’s repeated use of his hit song, specifically mentioning an October rally in Ohio.” (10/27/26)
- Serbia: Man shot dead after attacking officer outside Israeli embassy
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Serbian police shot dead a young man outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade in the early hours of Wednesday after what authorities called ‘a terrorist attack’. The country’s interior minister, Ivica Dacic, said the attacker had rushed at a police officer with two knives while shouting the phrase ‘Allahu Akbar!’. The officer sustained a minor knife wound to the face and shot the attacker. Dacic said the suspect has not been identified, but he was a minor and Serbian citizen who was being monitored by security services as he was ‘known to be a supporter of the Islamic State’. Speaking to reporters outside the embassy, Dacic said an investigation is ongoing, but security services said the suspect had posted a picture of the Islamic State flag on his Instagram.” (10/28/26)
- North Korea: Kim Jong Un tells commanders to prepare for war as border tensions rise
Source: United Press International
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on military commanders to intensify training to prepare for war, state-run media reported Wednesday, as tensions persist along the inter-Korean border. … Kim praised company leaders as the foundation of the military’s strength and urged them to redouble efforts to improve their units’ combat capabilities. He was joined by senior military officials, including Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission, Defense Minister Kim Song Gi and military chief of staff Ri Yong Gil.” (10/28/26)
- Congo: Ebola cases top 10,000
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) has reached 10,000 confirmed cases, government data showed on Tuesday, as health authorities race to slow the spread of the disease in multiple African countries. It is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history and nearly half of the 10,060 people confirmed to have the virus have died, according to data from D.R.C.’s Ministry of Health. That also makes it the deadliest outbreak of the disease in the country’s history. The outbreak declared in May is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.” (10/27/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ebola-outbreak-10000-cases-9.7397981
- Somalia: Islamic militants kill at least 20 regime troops
Source: ABC News
“Islamic extremist militants killed at least 20 Somali soldiers in an ambush, a military officer who survived the attack said, as the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but disclosed no troop casualties. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group, which has fought Somalia’s government for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack near Jameeca village in southern Somalia. The Defense Ministry said its troops killed about 75 militants and wounded 56 during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab claimed it killed 321 soldiers and captured prisoners and military equipment.” (10/28/26)
- Houthis say Saudi-led airstrikes killed 14 at a market in northern Yemen
Source: SFGate
“Iran-backed Houthi rebels say Saudi-led airstrikes have killed 14 people in a busy market in northern Yemen. Yemeni officials, meanwhile, appealed for international support to protect civilians in Taiz as the Houthis tightened their siege of the city. Separately, a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in the Serbian capital of Belgrade shot and killed a man who attacked him with a knife. Police called the incident ‘a terrorist attack’.” (10/28/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/iran-hails-tehran-security-talks-as-a-step-toward-22497963.php
- TX: Homeowner shoots intruder during burglary
Source: News 4 San Antonio
“Police are investigating a late-night residential burglary that ended with gunfire and a suspect being flown to San Antonio for medical treatment. The Del Rio Police Department said officers responded at about 10:39 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, to the 200 block of Ricks Drive after a report of a residential burglary involving shots fired. Police said officers contacted the homeowner, who reported he discharged a firearm after discovering an unknown male inside his residence. … Despite being injured, the suspect fled before officers arrived, police said. After an investigation and a search of the surrounding area, police said the suspect was later located and transported to San Antonio for further medical treatment because of the nature of his injuries.” (10/26/26)
- Annual Fundraiser Update: Stop Me Before I Exclaim Again!
THANK YOU to subscribing contributor T, whose $5 monthly payment yesterday broke our “zero-dollar day” streak! Our annual fundraiser total currently (as of 5am) stands at $1,058.
That’s $1,693.50 short of our $5,503 goal (once we’ve raised half, $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” for the other half).
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
This year, I’ve tried to be a little less verbose in appealing to you for support, but I guess it’s time to thump the podium and yell a bit:
You already know the story! We’re coming up on 24 years as Rational Review News Digest, with another 11 years before that as Libernet and Freedom News Daily! We’re the Internet’s oldest daily news and commentary roundup for libertarians!
We’re solid, reliable, we get the job done for you, and we only come to you once per year with the “fundraising telethon” schtick!
Once we reach a fairly modest goal, we STFU about money entirely for the rest of the year and mostly for the first three quarters of the following year!
I’d love to STFU about money entirely for the next two months and mostly for nine more months after that! You’re in control of whether or not I get to!
Stop me before I exclaim again! Oh, no, too late!
SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
And, of course, have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Israeli election: No clear winner as votes are counted
Source: Associated Press
“Votes were being counted as dawn broke in Israel on Wednesday morning, but exit polls suggested that its momentous national election left no clear winner. That likely meant the beginning of weeks of wrangling among parties to form a governing coalition and declare a new prime minister. In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains as interim caretaker head of the government. Exit polls released by major Israeli TV stations right after polls closed on Tuesday night and revised overnight indicated that neither Netanyahu’s political bloc nor that of his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured the 61 seats needed for a majority in the parliament, known as the Knesset. … With 60% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party has 21.4% and Eisenkot’s Yashar has 16.2%, according to official election data.” (10/28/26)
- Ukraine war: Ceasefire extended across Kherson region, officials say
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A ceasefire that began with the aim of getting food and medicine to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky has been extended across the wider southern region of Kherson, according to sources. Several thousand residents are trapped in the city with no access to food, water and electricity. On one side is the Dnipro river, while Russian forces are on the other and all the roads out are too dangerous. However, no breaches of the truce that began early on Tuesday have so far been reported. US First Lady Melania Trump, who helped broker the ceasefire along with Pope Leo XIV, said on Tuesday that the area involved had been expanded to provide ‘safe passage’ for humanitarian convoys.” (10/27/26)
- Bitcoin treasury Datavault AI plunges 50% after firm says it can’t access its BTC
Source: CoinDesk
“Datavault AI (DVLT) shares plunged nearly 50% on Tuesday after a filing revealed that the company had been unable to withdraw bitcoin from crypto exchange Biconomy since June and would have to restate its financial results. The stock closed at $0.067, down 49.55%, with roughly 244 million shares traded. The problem traces back to a September 2025 agreement with Scilex Holding Company, which agreed to purchase $150 million of Datavault shares and warrants using bitcoin.” (10/28/26)
- Egypt: Regime orders closure of independent news site Mada Masr
Sourc: Deutsche Welle [German state media]
“An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered the closure of independent news website Mada Masr after convicting its editor-in-chief, Lina Attalah, of operating without a license. Attalah, one of Egypt’s most prominent journalists, was detained for several hours following the verdict before being released after paying a fine. The court imposed a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds (around $53,400; €48,112), the maximum penalty for the offense. It also ordered the website to shut down and its equipment to be confiscated. Mada Masr, founded in 2013, is one of Egypt’s few remaining independent news outlets. It is known for investigating corruption, human rights violations and the military’s powerful role in the country.” (10/27/26)
https://www.dw.com/en/egypt-mada-masr-linah-attalah-press-freedom/a-79781842
- US DOJ fails to get indictment in revenge prosecution of former White House aide Hutchinson
Source: Axios
“The Justice Department failed to secure an indictment against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide who testified about President Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. … She testified that she had been told Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent who refused to drive him to the Capitol, that Trump knew some of his supporters were armed, and that former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows had been warned of potential violence on Capitol Hill. … Republicans have long disputed Hutchinson’s testimony, and Secret Service agents she identified as familiar with the events of that day have also said they do not recall some of the incidents she described. Earlier this year, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) sent a criminal referral of Hutchinson to the Justice Department for investigation.” (10/27/126)
https://www.axios.com/2026/10/27/cassidy-hutchinson-indictment-jan-6-testimony
- Ripple strikes deal with Robinhood to expand its RLUSD digital dollar
Source: CNBC
“Ripple has struck a deal with Robinhood to expand the reach of its digital dollar, RLUSD, strengthening trading and financing links between their institutional businesses and improving Robinhood’s internal money management. The partnership involves using RLUSD to settle institutional trades, automate Robinhood’s treasury operations and expand access to digital asset trading and financing through Ripple Prime and Bitstamp, the global crypto exchange acquired by Robinhood last year. It also helps meet Robinhood’s ambition of becoming a global financial superapp, centralizing its customers’ financial lives while expanding the underlying infrastructure that can serve both retail and institutional clients.” (10/27/26)
- NY: Nanotyrannus skeleton sells for $47.3 million in NYC auction
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The mounted skeleton of a newly-identified dinosaur once mistaken for a young Tyrannosaurus rex has sold at auction for a colossal $47.3m (£35.5m). Nicknamed Jodi, the roughly 10-foot-tall (3m) skeleton was auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York. The sale comes a year after researchers confirmed that the skeleton belongs to a distinct genus. The Late Cretaceous carnivore was expected to fetch at least $9m when it went under the hammer on Tuesday. The auction comes after Sotheby’s sold a Tyrannosaurus rex, dubbed Gus, for a record $50.1m in July. The sale has reignited debate in the scientific community over whether dinosaur remains should be sold privately or displayed publicly. Sotheby’s described Jodi as an ‘excellent exhibition-ready’ skeleton with about 191 fossil-bone elements and ‘a beautifully preserved, virtually complete skull’.” (10/27/26)
- Sales of US core capital goods rise in September; shipments accelerate
Source: The Globe and Mail [Canada]
“New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased in September and shipments of these products surged, suggesting business spending on equipment maintained a robust growth pace in the third quarter, though doubts are mounting over the huge cost of building out AI infrastructure. Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, rose 0.5 per cent last month after an unrevised 1.6-per-cent jump in August, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast these so-called core capital goods orders would advance by 0.7 per cent.” (10/27/26)
- CA: Federal agents search Beverly Hills mansion in investigation of Swalwell
Source: SFGate
“Federal law enforcement agents searched a Beverly Hills home early Tuesday as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations, two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. Agents searched the home of wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the ex-Congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. Swalwell [D-CA] has denied criminal wrongdoing. Messages seeking comment were left for Swalwell’s lawyer and for a lawyer who represented Cloobeck in another matter. Cloobeck, who founded the Diamond Resorts International timeshare company and ran last year for California governor, contributed more than $23,000 to Swalwell’s congressional campaigns since 2017, federal campaign finance records show. He told the New York Post in April that he cut ties with Swalwell as accusations against him mounted.” (10/27/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ap-sources-federal-agents-search-beverly-hills-22496771.php
- India: Court orders censorship of documentary on Modi, tycoon Adani
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“A court in India has ordered the takedown of an online documentary posted by Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani of cronyism, after Adani Enterprises sued, calling it defamatory. Adani’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, told the High Court in the eastern city of Kolkata that the documentary, which garnered millions of views on social media in recent days, was riddled with false content and had prompted inquiries from some investors in the company, whom the court order did not name. The documentary ‘is not a news report or an account of proceedings. It is a dramatised narrative’, the court’s takedown order for YouTube, X and Meta Platforms issued late on Monday said.” (10/27/26)
- Vietnam Banks on Europe
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“For most economies, especially those in the West, a growth of 9.95% would be celebrated—but in Vietnam, it has caused legislators to go into a panic. Despite achieving the fastest economic growth since 2022, it has fallen short of a target set by Vietnam’s National Assembly in April 2026, of an average annual growth of at least 10% over the next five years. It is for this reason that Vietnam is banking on the new free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) to provide the final boost.” (10/28/26)
- Social Media When Elections Are Close: Doing the Impossible Better
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Corynne McSherry“Everyone knows, or should, that perfect (balanced, targeted, transparent, swift and swiftly appealable) content moderation at scale is impossible. That doesn’t mean powerful social platforms don’t have to try to get at least reasonably close, especially when access to good information can have a profound effect on political participation and speech. That’s why so many people, including the Meta Oversight Board, criticized Meta for suspending a major political Instagram account for hours during a huge early voting push on October 17; and for allegedly boosting one candidate in Brazil’s recent presidential election.” (10/28/26)
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/10/social-media-when-elections-are-close-doing-impossible-better
- The Limits of Trump’s Midterm Trickery
Source: The Atlantic
by Quinta Jurecic“If, once most of the results are in, Democrats seem set to eke out a House majority by just a few seats, perhaps committed Trump allies in positions of power could make trouble in a handful of the closest districts. … This could create chaos on January 3, when the new House gathers for the first time: What happens if the contested seats are enough to deny the should-be-majority party the votes it needs to select a new speaker and take control of the chamber? Although this isn’t a foolproof trick for stealing control of the House, such a play could make things very precarious very quickly. But the bigger the majority secured by Democrats, the more difficult it would be for Trump to shave that majority down—the more clerks to convince, warrants to secure, and court rulings to dodge, all over the country.” (10/28/26)
- How the CDC Lied about Shot Injury
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Jeffrey A Tucker“The month was January 2021, only a few weeks into the mass rollout of the injection called a vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had outsourced its collection of data from the VAERS system – designed to monitor vaccine safety – to General Dynamics Information Technology. GDIT wrote the CDC a memo dated January 15. ‘The number of incoming COVID-19 reports has significantly exceeded the estimated maximum of 1,000 reports per day,’ the memo to the CDC said. ‘As a result, GDIT is unable to meet processing and other timeframes (data processing, telephone inquiries, clinical inquiries, etc.).’ … The five-alarm fire should have been obvious. At that very instant, if not long before, the shots should have been pulled.” (10/28/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/how-the-cdc-lied-about-shot-injury/
- Is the Korean Peninsula moving closer to war?
Source: Asia Times
by Lakhvinder Singh“Recently, Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that Pyongyang could take strong retaliatory measures if Seoul continues activities it considers provocative. To casual observers, this may appear to be just another routine exchange of verbal threats between the two Koreas. However, a closer examination of the current situation suggests that something unusually significant may be unfolding on the Korean Peninsula.” (10/28/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/is-the-korean-peninsula-moving-closer-to-war/
- The Politics of Equality, the Politics of Autonomy
Source: Liberal Currents
by Silvaria Lysandra Zemaitis“There is no shortage of agreement that liberalism, in the face of fascist authoritarianism and reactionary backslide, is in crisis. And there has been no end of rationalizations, responses, and reactions to this crisis, both from within and from without. These range from the reactionaries themselves, who (at least the more articulate ones) claim that liberalism has produced atomization, social decay, and national disintegration, to the farther left, who claim that liberalism has been a destabilizing economic force that has placed economic efficiency over human flourishing, and to those within liberalism itself, where some argue that liberalism has prioritized identity or self-expression over promoting a unified vision of the good life. While the quality and veracity of those critiques vary, I do believe that liberalism, as a political program, has not been good enough at answering them.” (10/28/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-politics-of-equality-the-politics-of-autonomy/
- No, CNN Did Not “Defame” Cenk Uygur by Trashing his Anti-Israel Ad
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“A new ad running to support Democrat senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan has been widely denounced as anti-Semitic for suggesting that Jews are taking food from Americans. The ad is the work of Rebellion PAC, a political action committee co-founded by The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur. Uygur has now struck out at CNN over a panel discussion that trashed the segment and called it clearly defamatory. For a torts teacher, the claim popped this story to the top of my pile, and I thought it was worthy of addressing. The CNN segment is manifestly not defamatory. Whatever grievance that he may have with the network, it is not a legal one.” (10/28/26)
- AI Brings Back Public Trust
Source: Persuasion
by Dan Williams“The bots are balanced where social media isn’t.” (10/28/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/ai-can-save-the-public-sphere
- Not a One-Time Thing
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Proposition 40, in California, calls itself — in the title — a one-time tax. But does anyone truly believe that? … The Democratic Socialists of America have endorsed it, not just because it’s a tax targeted against the rich — but because they want it to be much more than a one-time thing. Those who love total government are insatiable in their lust for other people’s money.” (10/27/260
- In the Balkans, a victory for political humility
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Just three decades ago, Serbia was the most warmongering place in Europe. On Sunday night, its capital, Belgrade, was the scene of a celebration of peace and joy after parliamentary elections turned out an autocratic ruling party, in a win for a student movement that has no leader and largely put up nonstudent candidates. Most of the student movement’s winning candidates hold doctorate degrees, of whom 44% are women. The Student List, as it’s called, now faces the task of bringing transparency and accountability to a government soaked in crony corruption. Its success in better governance could ricochet across the Balkan states after centuries of violent ethnic rivalries. ‘Serbia is a normal country again,’ Andjela Markovic, a nurse from Belgrade, told the London-based Financial Times. ‘We proved that we can be just like any other nation, where people love their country and love each other even when they disagree.'” (10/27/26)
- CBP Really Doesn’t Want To Reveal What It Does to Americans’ Phones
Source: Reason
by Matthew Petti“Customs and Border Protection (CBP) insists that it has the right to search Americans’ private data without a warrant when entering the country. But ordered to explain one of these searches by a judge, the agency is now trying to wiggle out from under the microscope, invoking its own data privacy. On Friday, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia ordered CBP to explain the seizure of a local psychiatric nurse’s phone and laptop at Washington Dulles International Airport. CBP argued that the court should seal this information from both the public and the nurse himself in order to protect ‘privileged law enforcement information.’ Brinkema initially agreed …. After reading the filings, the judge declared on Tuesday afternoon ‘that most of the redacted information is not privileged law enforcement information and should not be sealed.'” (10/27/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/27/cbp-really-doesnt-want-to-reveal-what-it-does-to-americans-phones/
- Who is Making Billions from the Iran War?
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
by Ron Paul“At a campaign rally over the weekend, President Trump dismissed Americans’ concerns over high oil and gas prices, claiming that it’s a small price to pay for the hundreds of billions of dollars ‘we’ are making from these higher prices. ‘We’re making a fortune,’ he said. ‘Hundreds of billions of dollars. Trillions of dollars.’ People are paying a little bit more for gas, he explained, but it doesn’t matter because ‘we’ are making so much money. The question is, ‘Who is ‘we’?’ We know it is not the American people.” (10/27/26)
https://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/who-is-making-billions-from-the-iran-war
- After Midterms, Let’s Make Politics Boring Again
Source: Racket News
by Matt Taibbi“For the last twenty years, politics was our most fascinating news story and the most interesting thing on the Internet. Now, one senses huge portions of the electorate would rather take baths in battery acid than listen to even one more word from a politician. Americans have by now been screwed over so many times that the problem may no longer be that the government doesn’t work. It’s that government doesn’t work, and we can’t shut up about it. Other countries manage to deliver lousy economies and naked corruption without so much talking. Can’t we just be Mexico or Paraguay and have peace and quiet while things mostly go to hell?” (10/27/26)
- The Crest of a New Wave
Source: In These Times
by Miles Kampf-Lassin“In mid-September, the next generation of movement [sic] candidates assembled in Washington, D.C. (where they’re on track to be sworn into Congress next year) to scheme how to most effectively bring working-class politics into the halls of power. The group includes Chris Rabb from Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros from Colorado, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier from New York, Adam Hamawy from New Jersey and Donavan McKinney from Michigan. All were endorsed by local chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) except for Hamawy, who had the backing of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders [I-VT] and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [D-NY]. Each of them won their Democratic primaries this year in heavily blue districts with essential locks to win the general in the November 3 elections.” (10/27/26)
- Reading Between the Bumpers
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley“Plate readers are scanning more than license plates, prompting calls for limits on how governments and vendors collect and use personal data.” (10/27/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/27/reading-between-the-bumpers/
- Will the Feds Kill Your Bank Account?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard“This month, a Trump administration report confirmed Joe Biden’s White House secretly connived to destroy Americans’ financial freedom. Those bureaucrats were upholding hallowed precedents stretching back to the Nixon era, when Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act. That law made it a crime for banks to keep secrets from the government. … This is like a bad horror show that gets repeated at least once a decade. During the Barack Obama administration, the FDIC and the Justice Department launched the original Operation Choke Point, supposedly to ‘choke’ illegal businesses’ access to financial services. But the target list was stretched to include attempts to destroy financial access for porn stars, coin dealers, online tobacco companies, and other targets.” (10/27/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/will-the-feds-kill-your-bank-account/
- Frivolous Litigation Watch: Alaska Already Solved This “Problem”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“In a rather strange lawsuit — United States v. State of Alaska, filed on October 23 — the US Department of Justice asked a court to block that state’s election authority from certifying an election result that isn’t even known yet and won’t be known until, at the earliest, November 3. Weird enough, but it gets even weirder: DOJ wants certification of the result blocked if, and only if, incumbent US Senator Dan Sullivan loses the election. If he wins? Move along, nothing to see here. The ‘problem,’ DOJ claims, is that voters may be ‘confused’ by the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot — the aforementioned Daniel S. Sullivan, a Republican, and ‘independent’ Daniel J. Sullivan — in addition to Democrat Mary Peltola and a second Republican, Gerald L. Heikes. In other words, DOJ wants the court to rule that Alaska’s voters are really, really stupid.” (10/27/26)
- The Doomsday Government: Preparing for the End of the World, Not the End of Power
Source: Rutherford Institute
by John & Nisha Whitehead“This time of year, there is no shortage of monsters to frighten us. Hollywood has given us vampires, zombies, mad scientists, masked killers and creatures that emerge from the darkness to prey upon the unsuspecting. But perhaps the most frightening monster of all is the government that has become so accustomed to wielding extraordinary power that it cannot imagine a future in which that power is diminished. Enter the Doomsday Plan. Imagine it: The power grid goes down. Supply chains collapse. Communications fail. Cities are plunged into darkness. Ordinary Americans are left scrambling for food, water, medicine and shelter. Not to worry, though. The government has a plan for the coming apocalypse.” (10/27/26)
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/the_doomsday_government
- The dark side of AI regulation is unrestrained government control
Source: The Hill
by Georgy Egorov & Konstantin Sonin“Fear of artificial intelligence is spreading fast. In the United States, momentum is building for a regulatory framework that would slow progress at the technological frontier. Leaders of the industry sound partial to slowing down. The problem with this approach is that any effective regulation would create risks of its own. In particular, enforcing an AI slowdown would require an extraordinary expansion of the government’s surveillance and investigative powers. History shows that the risks of such an expansion might outweigh the very real risks of unregulated development.” (10/27/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/6173115-government-power-ai-safety/
- Another Kind Of Socialism
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“Israeli kibbutzim range in size up to a thousand inhabitants. The oldest is more than a century old and monasteries, an earlier version of the same model, have lasted much longer. Why do such institutions exist, what problems do they encounter and how do they solve them? There are at least three reasons. The first is ideology, religion for the monasteries, socialism for the kibbutzim.” (10/27/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/another-kind-of-socialism
- The Ukrainian Gordian Knot
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“After crossing with his army into Asia, Alexander the Great stopped at Gordium (in modern-day Turkey). He approached the famous Gordian knot: a tangled mass of bark tying an ox cart to a pole, so intricate and tight that no one could unravel it. When told that anyone who could untie the mess would rule all of Asia, Alexander simply pulled out his sword and cut through it, solving the problem and fulfilling the prophecy. The Ukraine war may be our Gordian knot, but (in our current nuclear age) it is dangerous to cut rather than unravel it. No one knows exactly how many people have been killed in the Ukraine war, which has now lasted four years and eight months — longer than World War II in the Pacific, the American Civil War, or World War I. There is still no end in sight.” (10/27/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/27/the-ukrainian-gordian-knot-2/
- The good reasons and bad politics surrounding a third Trump impeachment
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg“There’s a raging debate within the Democratic Party, mostly beneath the surface, about whether President Trump should be impeached for a third time. It’s relevant because the Democrats are almost guaranteed to win back the House, and therefore the power to impeach. But the debate isn’t over whether Trump has done anything impeachable. That question is settled: Of course he has. Democrats are debating whether it would be politically wise to stir up all the drama only to inevitably fail at securing the two-thirds vote requirement for conviction in the Senate. Spending the next two years on a failed impeachment wouldn’t fulfill their promises to deal with ‘affordability’ and the like. I don’t really care about the politics one way or another. But if Democrats decide to go down that path, Trump’s abuse of the pardon power would be a good place to start.” (10/27/26)
- It’s Open Season for Racism and Bigotry in the Republican Party This Midterm
Source: The UnPopulist
by Steve Chapman“Americans have come to expect hateful campaign rhetoric from Republican candidates and their proxies. Comments that once were off-limits to politicians are now standard fare. Donald Trump did more than anyone to normalize such vicious attacks, and his example continues to inspire imitation. The 2026 midterm elections have spawned a hurricane of extremist vitriol. Republicans used to rhapsodize about curbing federal deficits, minimizing government intervention in the economy, and standing for democracy around the world. But those themes are obsolete under Trump. Today, the GOP takes a distinctly different approach: vilifying one marginal and vulnerable group after another in an effort to provoke fear and anger among voters.” (10/27/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/its-open-season-for-racism-and-bigotry
- Will You Save Democracy?
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“On the eve of elections in the United States, I never thought I’d be in the Alps for the first time. But this is where I am, and where I need to be – meeting with movement leaders from around the world at the Democracy Resilience Forum, a week of honest exchange between leaders from places where our right to vote is under attack. I am one of fifty leaders from five continents invited here by Salzburg Global, an organization born out of the ashes of World War II to help ‘open-minded leaders overcome barriers and open a world of possibilities’. This group helped rebuild Europe, then with the fall of the Berlin Wall, expanded their horizons around the globe.” [editor’s note: Posted merely to show how delusional progressive pundits are about the need for “demoncrazy” – SAT] (10/26/26)
- Upsides and Downsides to a Democratic Midterm Victory
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The upside to a Democratic victory in the midterm elections is that a Congress that is controlled in one or both chambers by Democrats will likely be able to limit or impede at least some of President Trump’s authoritarian proclivities. Even just hitting Trump with investigations and possibly impeachment proceedings (e.g., for his drug-war assassinations and undeclared war of aggression against Iran) would inevitably distract him so that he would not be able to devote his entire time and efforts to doing bad things to people, including Americans. Coming to mind, of course, are his tariff (i.e., tax) spree and his initiation of deadly and destructive foreign interventions and wars, such as in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. It is worth noting, however, that while a Democratic victory might restrain Trump, it would not restore a free and prosperous society to our land.” (10/27/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/10/27/upsides-and-downsides-to-a-democratic-midterm-victory/
- Steve Hilton has only good idea for California’s failed fake train dreams
Source: California Post
by staff“Steve Hilton is right: California’s high-speed rail project belongs in a museum, not on a map — and certainly not on the state’s budget. The ‘bullet train to nowhere’ was supposed to link San Francisco to Los Angeles in under three hours at a cost of $33 billion by 2020. Instead, it will only link a couple of towns in the Central Valley, at a cost of over $200 billion, by 2032 at the earliest. The Republican candidate for governor says he will end the project and ‘turn it into the Government Failures National Monument’. That might actually be a profitable idea. One can imagine something like the statue parks that sprang up in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism.” (10/26/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/opinion/steve-hilton-has-only-good-idea-for-failed-high-speed-rail/
- Canada Wants To Let Dementia Patients Consent to Euthanasia in Advance
Source: Reason
by Jeffrey A Singer“Patients diagnosed with progressive dementia may know exactly how much deterioration they are willing to endure. They can articulate their wishes, discuss alternatives, and put their instructions in writing. Should losing the ability to repeat those instructions invalidate them? Canada is preparing to address that question. On October 23, its Justice Department announced planned rules that would allow adults diagnosed with an incurable illness expected to destroy their decision-making capacity to consent in advance to assisted suicide (or, as Canada calls it, medical assistance in dying (MAID)). … Competent adults should be free to choose clinician-assisted suicide or clinician-administered euthanasia, provided they give fully informed, voluntary consent and those assisting them do so willingly. That freedom should include planning for the loss of decision-making capacity.” (10/27/26)
- On Google Killing 400,000 Trees To Build Data Centers In Finland
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“That story about Google killing hundreds of thousands of trees in Finland for its data center project is such a perfect microcosm of what capitalism is doing to our world. Recent mass media headlines are saying the tech giant ‘illegally’ cut down ‘250,000 trees’, but both claims paint an inaccurate picture of what actually happened. Google killed 400,000 trees (250,000 near a town called Muhos and another 150,000 near the village of Otanmäki), and unless the company’s executives actually wind up going to prison for this, their actions cannot properly be described as ‘illegal’. I don’t know who first coined the saying ‘If the penalty is a fine, then it’s legal for rich people’, but it certainly applies here.” (10/27/26)
- Shoppers Get a Vote—Homeowners Should, Too
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Scott Gilmer“This November, voters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, will decide whether to raise their city’s sales tax by half a cent. … Whatever you think of the proposal, don’t miss what is happening. Goodlettsville wants more of its taxpayers’ money, so it has to ask them first. That is how it should work anytime your local government needs more from you. Now ask yourself a simple question: when a local government wants to raise your property taxes, who does it have to ask? The answer is no one but itself. Not you, not your neighbors, not a single voter.” (10/27/26)
https://fee.org/articles/shoppers-get-a-vote-homeowners-should-too/
- California voters will pay price if “billionaire tax” passes
Source: USA Today
by Justin Haskins“Supporters say Prop 40 would raise $100 billion over five years, the period during which billionaires could pay it off in annual installments. Backers are selling Prop 40 as a lifeline for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, and 90% of the revenue would go to health care. With federal cuts phasing in, Medi-Cal could need tens of billions of dollars over the next decade to stay afloat. But Prop 40 would do California far more harm than good. … unish business owners, investors and other wealthy people, and they leave for greener pastures. That’s common sense, and California has been living it for years.” (10/27/26)
- Trump Has Lost the Foreign-Policy Debate
Source: Foreign Policy
by Jonathan Monten, Jordan Tama, & Josh Buby“Many of Trump’s foreign-policy views are unpopular with U.S. foreign-policy leaders and the public. Trump has failed to sell fellow Republican foreign-policy leaders or voters on key parts of his vision. Rather than mark a turning point in America’s approach to the world, Trump’s foreign policy may not outlast Trump himself.” (10/27/26)
- Universities Now Prefer Conformity Over the Pursuit of Truth
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams“The recent scandal at Cambridge revealed how invested the academy is in pushing an ideology — even punishing dissenters who insist on telling the truth.” (10/27/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/universities-prefer-conformity-to-pursuit-of-truth/
- Trump Accounts just the beginning; young Americans need path to homeownership
Source: Fox News
by Frank Cassidy“In March of last year, my daughter Margot was born, and like any new father, I found myself thinking about the opportunities that would shape her future. I recently enrolled her in a Trump Account, President Donald Trump’s initiative to help American children begin building wealth from an early age. With a $1,000 federal contribution for eligible children born between 2025 and 2028, the program gives the next generation an opportunity to benefit from decades of investment growth. As President Trump’s former Federal Housing Administration commissioner, I also believe Trump Accounts should be just the beginning for how we can help young Americans build lasting wealth. In particular, I think we are at a pivotal point in American history to enact new policies to help generations of families achieve financial independence through owning their first home.” [editor’s note: Surprised this socialist drivel got on the Fox op-ed page; no wait, I’m really not – SAT] (10/27/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-accounts-beginning-young-americans-need-path-homeownership
- Japan’s Disputed Islands May Cause a Headache for Washington
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter“The 1951 San Francisco peace treaty formally ending the war between the Allies and Japan attempted to resolve postwar territorial disputes. In that treaty, Tokyo renounced its claim to the Kurils but also contended that the four southernmost islands were distinct from the Kuril chain and, therefore, were still part of Japan’s territory. Since the Soviet Union never signed the treaty at all, the Kuril issue remained unresolved. The dispute has continued to be a volatile, emotional topic with populations in both countries. … There is a significant risk that the United States could become entangled in the disputes involving either the Kurils or the Senkakus. That is especially true since there is a mutual defense treaty with Japan.” (10/27/26)
- Reagan & Gorby: What happened in Reykjavik didn’t stay in Reykjavik
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Martin Di Caro“Before 1986, a city named Reykjavík was best remembered for the ‘Match of the Century.’ International eyes fixated on Iceland’s capital for the World Chess Championship of 1972. The American prodigy Bobby Fischer dethroned the USSR’s defending champ Boris Spassky, ending a quarter-century of Soviet chess domination. Meanwhile on the global chessboard, the Cold War, with its mind-boggling defense budgets and ICBM stockpiles, continued. Fourteen years later, Reykjavík became synonymous with a different kind of U.S.-Soviet meeting with far greater stakes for humankind. The story of how President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev wound up there for two days of meetings 40 Octobers ago — and the progress they made toward a shared goal of eliminating nuclear bombs — should resonate in our dangerous age of nuclear tension and profligate weapons modernization.” (10/27/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/reagan-gorbachev-reykjavik/
- Stress Test, 10/28/26
Source: Mother Jones
“‘Creepy, Weird’: MAGA Flops Abroad and Flails at Home.” (10/28/26)
- Checks & Balances, 10/27/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“How Conspiracy Theories Took Over the Right (w/ Tom Joscelyn).” (10/27/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/how-conspiracy-theories-took-over
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/28/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Tirade at Rally Takes Delusional Turn After Fox Drops Poll Bomb.” (10/28/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217255/trump-tirade-rally-takes-delusional-turn-fox-drops-poll-bomb
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 10/28/26
Source: The Dispatch
“What’s Wrong with France? | Interview: Thomas Chatterton Williams.” (10/28/26)
- Free Speech Unmuted, 10/27/26
Source: Hoover Institution
“Do You Have A Right To Privacy On Public Roads? | Orin Kerr On Flock Cameras.” (10/27/26)
- Politics Politics Politics, 10/27/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“The Midterm Map MADNESS to Beat Them All (with Evan Scrimshaw and Ryan Jakubowski).” (10/27/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/the-midterm-map-madness-to-beat-them
- NPR Politics Podcast, 10/27/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“How are voters feeling before Election Day?” (10/27/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/27/nx-s1-6019227/how-are-voters-feeling-before-election-day
- TAC Right Now, 10/27/26
Source: The American Conservative
“Netanyahu Fails to Provoke Iranian Attack Pre-Election, w/ Robert Wright.” (10/27/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/27/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Israeli Exit Polls Show Netanyahu Ahead But Short of Majority, Oman Says Gulf Should Unite, and More.” (10/27/26)
- Gracearchy with Jim Babka, episode 172
Source: Gracearchy with Jim Babka
“Netflix’s ‘The Bombing of Pan Am 103’ Finds Gracepoints.” (10/27/26)
https://rumble.com/v7gmkxe-panam-flight-103-gracearchy-with-jim-babka.html
- Trump Watch, 10/27/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The U.S. Government vs. María Corina Machado.” (10/27/26)
- The Bryan Hyde Show, 10/27/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos drops by for our weekly visit. We talk about political theatre, fast cars and what voters should be considering before they vote.” (10/27/26)
- Dr. Jonathan Newman — Why Socialism Fails
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
“Dr. Jonathan Newman discusses the evolution of socialism and the roots of modern socialist movements with KPNW Radio host Bill Lundun.” (10/27/260
https://mises.org/podcasts/individual-interview/dr-jonathan-newman-why-socialism-fails
- The Corbett Report, episode 510
Source: The Corbett Report
“No, War is NOT Good For the Economy.” (10/27/26)
https://corbettreport.com/no-war-is-not-good-for-the-economy/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/27/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The Anti-Flock Rebellion Picks Up Steam.” (10/27/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 10/27/26
Source: Advisory Opinions
“Election Shenanigans.” (10/27/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/election-shenanigans/
- Capital Record, episode 330
Source: National Review
“Is Business School Bad?” (10/27/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/is-business-school-bad/
- The Climate Realism Show, episode 222
Source: Heartland Institute
“California’s Bullet Train: Speeding Into Absurdity.” (10/26/26)
- Sal and Mark, episode 23
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sal and Mark return with Joel Valenzuela on the Pirate Chain exploit, Dash’s new shielded asset pool, and why Dash’s privacy tech just hit a new watermark.” (10/27/26)
- Pod Save America, episode 1231
Source: Crooked Media
“Let Them Eat Cheesecake.” (10/27/26)